Thank you very much to the WS Bee Garden Team for another great year! We had a total of 16 groups come through to see the bees and learn about our pollinating friends, and countless guests come to say hello on their own time. This year, we were even able to sample honey right off of the hive frames (later in the year, after we were sure the bees would have enough food for themselves during the winter), and a few local youngsters suited up to help check on the bees - something we should certainly do more of down the road. The bees did great, although one hive did recently succumb to a wasp infestation, despite efforts to deter them, and minimize hive entrances. Such is nature, I suppose. Our other hive is entering the winter strong, however, with plenty of food. We've taken a few pre-winter steps to make sure their food is within easy reach, and the hive is tilted slightly forward to help drain condensation. We won't see too much of the bees this winter (there aren't any flowers outside for them to visit!). On warmer days, the bees may come out of the hive to use the restroom. Did you know that bees can only poop in flight? They will primarily be spending their time clustered inside the hive, staying warm and tending to the queen and her baby bees. The queen doesn't lay as many eggs in the winter, and will likely take a break completely during the early winter months - starting up again in December or January. This will increase the colony size, so that there are plenty of bees to help gather food when the flowers start blooming again in the spring!

This winter, we humans have a few activities planned in the bee garden. An irrigation system will be installed within the next month, making watering the plants during the heat of the summer next year much less cumbersome (and efficient), hooray! We also hope to build a pergola, and create some shade - it can get awfully hot out there for our guests volunteers on a hot July afternoon. We hope to secure the benches as well, so that they aren't so wobbly. And would love to install hive monitoring systems, tracking hive activity and contributing to local honey bee research!All of this thanks to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund Grant, the West Seattle Garden Tour, the Seattle People's Fund and our amazing volunteers, thank you!!